10/29/2009 - A new law meant to protect the voting rights of deployed troops and other Americans overseas is forcing at least a dozen states to consider holding their primaries earlier or to negotiate another plan that federal officials will accept.
Ballots must be sent to certain voters at least 45 days before an election under a requirement included in a major defense bill signed Wednesday by President Barack Obama. It leaves states with 2010 primaries in August and September in a pickle because the deadline for distributing November ballots will pass by the time many certify the results of the primary.
***
Sending ballots overseas and back takes time. For military members in particular, Coffman and fellow advocates describe a mail delivery maze that can chew up a month each way as items go from port to port and then compete with food, bullets and supplies in convoys headed to forward operating bases.
In January, the Pew Center on the States identified shortcomings with the turnaround of military and overseas ballots in 25 states. The report said states mailed them out anywhere from 21 to 60 days before an election and found it routinely takes several weeks to get them back - sometimes too late to be counted.
To read the full article, "Military Ballot Law has States in a Time Squeeze," visit newsobserver.com
